Construction Materials Firms Issue Health Product Declaration

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Published: Thursday, 07 November 2013 11:06

Written by Rock Products News

CarbonCure Technologies Inc. and Chicago-based Northfield Block, a division of Oldcastle APG, have issued the first Health Product Declaration (HPD) for any concrete product in North America. This groundbreaking document reveals the health impacts of one of Northfield’s most popular products, Trendstone Sandstone, made with the CarbonCure technology, which is manufacturing using waste carbon dioxide (CO2).

The announcement comes on the heels of news earlier this year that the first Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for any concrete product in North America was issued by CarbonCure and Ontario-based concrete producer Atlas Block. The two announcements collectively demonstrate that the concrete industry is responding to demands from building designers and developers to disclose the health and environmental impacts of building materials.

With the goal of increasing transparency, EPDs and HPDs enable manufacturers to communicate a product’s environmental and health impacts to designers and developers. These standardized documents are expected to be critical tools as the green building industry continues to grow at a reported 20 percent annually, according to some sources. In LEED version 4, construction projects that use at least 20 building products that have issued EPDs and/or HPDs will be awarded points under the Materials and Resources: Building Product Disclosure and Optimization credit.

The CarbonCure by Northfield Block HPD was issued for Northfield’s Trendstone Sandstone product that contains CO2 captured from smoke stacks using CarbonCure’s green technology. “The construction industry is going through a transformative change,” said Northfield President Craig Belasco. “Architects are demanding information about the health impacts of building materials, so they can create healthy and safe buildings. Northfield is thrilled to be leading the industry in being the first to respond to these demands.”

Many leading architectural firms, including Chicago’s Wight & Co., are excited to have this information available, and are starting to request HPDs from their suppliers. “Congratulations to CarbonCure and Northfield for stepping up to the plate and issuing the first HPD for concrete. Our goal as a design firm is to protect the health of the people who work and live in the buildings we bring to life. We look forward to working with manufacturers to promote transparency,” said Wight’s Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Lois Vitt Sale. E